The present invention relates to furniture and, more particularly, to an improved reclining mechanism for articles of furniture such as chairs, sofas and loveseats.
Conventionally, recliner type seating units (i.e. chairs, sofas, loveseats and the like), generally require a predetermined distance between an adjacent wall surface and the seat back to avoid contact therebetween during reclined operation. In addition, loose seat cushions are not generally used in most recliner type seating units due to the height requirements associated with operably supporting the mechanical recliner mechanism under the seat.
Reclining mechanisms typically generate a relatively large amount of frictional drag which must be overcome for smooth movement between an "upright" and a "tilted" position. In particular, lighter weight seat occupants must normally exert a deliberate leveraged thrust or force, in addition to pulling the actuator lever, for completely extending the leg rest and moving the seat section to its "tilted" position. Moreover, it is often difficult for the seat occupant to return to the upright position from the "tilted" or a fully "reclined" position due to the height and the upward angular tilt of the seat relative to the reclined seat back. As such, the occupant must exert a relatively large and deliberate leveraged force to return the reclined seat section to the full upright position. Another drawback associated with recliners is that the leg rest assembly cannot be retracted to its stowed position from an extended elevated position until after the seat occupant has completely returned the seat section to its fully upright position.
As is known, virtually all traditional recliner type seating units require the seat occupant to either forcibly urge a portion of the seating section forwardly (i.e. by pulling on an arm portion of the chair), or manually move some type of actuating lever to initiate movement of the leg rest assembly from a retracted position toward an extended and elevated position. While most recliner type seating units have proven to be generally successful, it nevertheless would be desirable to permit the seat occupant to deliberately initiate movement of the let rest assembly toward its extended position with virtually no physical effort. Such a leg rest release arrangement would be particularly advantageous for elderly or handicapped persons who typically have difficulty, because of lack of strength, in using conventional release means (i.e. movement of levers or gripping an arm portion of a recliner chair) to initiate the extending action of a leg rest assembly and/or tilting action of the seat assembly.
An example of one type of leg rest release arrangement commonly utilized in the furniture industry includes an actuator button that is typically connected to a linkage assembly. Actuation of the button acts to move the linkage assembly for causing the leg rest assembly to protract and/or move the seat assembly to a tilted position. While several actuator button release systems currently exist, there remains a need for continued development of alternative release systems that are relatively simple in design and construction, are durable and yet are quiet and easy to operate.
Traditionally, recliners have a leg rest frame board that are moveable between the "stored" retracted position and a fully "extended" position. Typically, the elevation of the leg rest frame board, when fully extended, is not adjustable. Furthermore, when the leg rest board is biasingly urged via spring-assist mechanisms toward its fully extended position, there generally is no means for decreasing the amount of biasing force that must be exerted by the seat occupant to overcome the spring-assist mechanism in order to initiate the return of the leg rest board to its retracted or "stowed" position.